Third Sunday in Lent

From the Gospel of John -
Jesus tells the Jews "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Gospel also ends with "...Jesus...did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well."

The Jerusalem temple was destroyed in 70AD and never rebuilt. Jesus in this Gospel refers to His body which was destroyed by crucifixion and buried, and on the third day He was raised from the dead. As St. Paul tells us, "If Christ was not raised, our faith is vain." Jesus also tells us in the last line of this Sunday's Gospel reading that He understands human nature well. It is why Jesus died on the cross because He knew too well our weaknesses. Weaknesses that people in today's culture deny or too often refuse to see. Many tend to be deaf and blind. Many refuse to seek knowledge in order to understand.

From the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians -
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." In the second reading on this Third Sunday in Lent, Paul tells us about God's foolishness and weakness. In our human nature, we see so differently than God. We think life is about power, prestige, possessions, but it's not. It's in our own weakness that we become strong. It is in our own foolishness that we become wise. When we humble ourselves and empty ourselves, God our Creator makes us strong and fills us with His presence. It is always the opposite of what our human nature wants to think. Evil is alive and well in this world of ours. But lies do not survive in the end.

Pray as if your life depends upon it, for it surely does!! You can live for the moment in a passing life, or you can live for eternity that will last forever! God bless!